Mobile computing devices such as smartphones allow their users to take many of the functions from their desktop personal computers on the road with them. Smartphone applications run the gamut, from original personal digital assistant programs such as tasks lists, contact lists, and calendars, to programs that users can add to their telephones from on-line application stores.
Many of these applications focus on “local” aspects of a user's experience because of the portability of smartphones. For example, search engines can determine or infer the location of a mobile device and can return “local” search results that are directed to the area around the device. Also, applications for finding restaurants may be aimed at a user's current location, such as by accessing data from a GPS unit on a mobile device or by using cellular telephone triangulation techniques, among others.